Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sunderland gave Manchester City fits at the Etihad Saturday, so much so that for 80 minutes manager Roberto Mancini was driven crazy by a team asleep at the switch.

It took two goals in less than two minutes to get the 3-3 draw, but the whole day seems to be symbolized by enigma Mario Balotelli and his hissy fit during a free kick...

And for his postgame interview, Mancini let everyone have it...
As well he should have for a team that everyone chalked up a win for against a middle-of-the-table team...
((HT: Premier League/MCFC/youtube))

The teams at the bottom of the table continue to impress and play with urgency. Bolton took care of Wolves to solidify the latter's fate for relegation. QPR and Wigan also won against Arsenal and Stoke.

Wolves are six points behind Wigan, QPR, and Blackburn. Rovers have a game in hand until their match with ManU Monday. Bolton have 29 points.

But does Aston Villa realize that they're only five points north of being demoted...??? That's the question...

With everything Oklahoma State's women's hoops program has been through this season, there were a lot of people ((HQ included)) that weren't necessarily rooting against James Madison in their game against OSU, but were rooting for the Cowgirls to win their last game of the year.

And in a game where OSU led by as many as 17, they got their title with the win over the Dukes. The widow of head coach Kurt Budke, Shelley, was given the honor of cutting down the last part of the net in their 75-68 win.

Damon Fontenot was at Gallagher-Iba...

Gina Mizell's must-read piece gave some insights from coach Jim Littell about how players went back to ideas that gave the players comfort in a time of great mourning and the team felt the presence of coach Budke and coach Miranda Serna.

Well, you can say this about the athletic administrators at Kansas State, they didn't waste a lot of time replacing fired head coach Frank Martin. In fact they are going to announce the new guy late Saturday afternoon.

It appears the new hoops coach in Manhattan, Kansas is going to be deposed Illinois coach Bruce Weber. If you are surprised to hear that, you can add your name to a rather lengthy list.

Weber takes over the Wildcat program after his Illinois team lost 11 of their last 13 games this season after a 6-1 start and multiple reports that he had "Lost" his team.

Yeah, we're scratching our heads too. Perhaps K-State didn't think they could do better. And they may have been right. The question is more...how hard did they look.

This isn't a total slam on Weber who had modest success in Champaign, but even the K-State players are apparently miffed at the move. They heard the stories of Weber's shortcomings. They, along with many others are wondering why they didn't try an up-and-comer from a small school or a top-flight assistant. But they didn't.

The HQ knows how mental fans get when it comes to their teams and local sports here in the States. But there's a different level of silliness overseas...

Add to that the whole Catholic-Protestant thing, and it goes sideways very quickly.

Neil McKenzie and Trevor Muirhead were convicted of conspiracy to assault after bags containing bottles of potentially explosive liquid, a timer and dozens of nails were sent through the mail. The nail bombs that were being made with all of those materials were being sent to the manager of Celtic, Neil Lennon, a member of Parliament, a key attorney, and a group that wants a unified Ireland

Surprise... McKenzie and Muirhead are fans of Celtic's main rival- Rangers.

Sentencing is set for April 27.

Here's some behind the scenes stuff on Lennon from an interview he did on Irish network RTE...

In talking with FOSG who follow the Gator basketball program, they're actually glad that Walker is no longer associated with the on-court product at the O-Dome. The prevailing opinion is that Walker is too small to play at the next level here in the states and has too many issues being a point guard- including launching too many unnecessary shots at inopportune times and not being a guard that has sound judgment with the ball...

There's the phrase having to do with a door on your way out...
But the new incident reminds the HQ of what's below...
((HT: Yum!Brands/youtube))

Diego Maradona is coaching over in the UAE these days, but just because he's coaching doesn't mean he still knows what's happening behind him in the stands...

As his Al Wasl squad was playing Al Shabab, the Shabab fans were heckling his players and then the girlfriends of the team...

Maradona left his seat...

After the match, Maradona called the rival fans "cowards"

"Some people are cowards. They only attack women and have no courage to confront men," Maradona said according to The Gulf News. "This is the first time I am upset with the fans. If they are angry with me they should know that I did it (climbed the stands) for my (girlfriend) because someone was calling her names. They shouldn't be angry with me. They should be angry with the people who did this. They are cowards, not real fans."

Oh, Al Wasl lost 2-0 and Maradona has threatened to walk if the owners don't invest in the franchise...

According to a report produced by Yahoo Sports reporter Jason Cole, the chances of an NFL stadium being built in downtown Los Angeles are shrinking by the day.

Cole reports that the sticking point in negotiations are primarily AEG's Phil Anschutz's requirement that he be allowed to purchase a minority stake in any team that would relocate to LA. Oh, that stake would come at a pre-set discount too. Anschutz also wants a rental agreement on the stadium.

The NFL...well, they aren't so enamored with that idea, but Anschutz is sticking to that plan.

While we see Anschutz's point in asking for something in return for fronting $1 billion for the stadium, we still think the whole idea is a bad one. Sure, we understand the NFL desperately wants to return to LA, but we just don't see that happening.

For those of you who say "Plenty of teams will relocate", we say Bull*%#!. Every team that is thinking about it will use Los Angeles as a negotiating tactic to get what they want. It already will be getting the Vikings a new stadium. The Jaguars, while they "Could" leave, we don't believe the new ownership will do that any time in the near future. Sure, we know they have attendance issues, but knowing the Jacksonville market as we do, its a statement on the economy and the incredibly bizarre and poor personnel decisions by management.

Oh...we might add this story from today's LA Times:

There are rumblings in LA LA land that the Magic Johnson consortium that just bought the Dodgers have contemplated putting a football stadium next to Dodger stadium. And while that might be a more plausible idea than the AEG plan, we wonder if they have the capital after dishing out $2 billion for the baseball team.

We really, REALLY, think the NFL is trying to force a square peg in a round hole here. Sure, a team in LA will give them potentially a ton more eyeballs and better access to the nations 2nd largest city. But really, is hurting them by not being there?

Its not like the NFL isn't the most popular Sports league in all the land. And it isn't like they are hurting for revenue or are being held back in their TV deal by not being in the City of Angels.

No, we say forcing a team to move to LA would alienate a good part of their audience. And we don't think they are quite ready to jump into the expansion game....yet.

Every year a surprising run by a mid-major in the NCAA Tournament turns that program's head coach into a hot commodity.

This year Ohio made a run to the regional semifinals and took North Carolina into overtime. That helped Bobcat head coach John Groce who caught the attention of the University of Illinois who happened to have an opening.

Thursday Groce was introduced as the new head coach of the Illini and the Danville, Indiana native who was born and bred on Big 10 basketball was thrilled.

"For me, when I mean once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that's exactly what I meant." Groce said and a press conference Thursday. "I looked at it and said I'm a little different than everybody else. This is the first and only job that I interviewed for since I've been at Ohio."

Here's a one-on-one interview with the new Fighting Illini leader. (WAND-TV Springfield, IL)

One very important aspect of being the head coach at Illinois is recruiting the city of Chicago successfully. It was the secret to Lou Henson's great success during the "Flying Illini" days of the 1980's. Chicago talent was the cornerstone of Henson's 1989 Final Four team.

Groce won't be a stranger in Chicago.

"I understand how important that area is." Groce said. "We have previously established relationships that are going to be important."

The assembled media was at Baylor University thinking they were just going to get an update before the Lady Bears were to make their way to Denver for the women's hoops finals. But the media were given a different, and more sobering, story.

Head women's coach Kim Mulkey has been given a Bell's Palsy diagnosis...

From the Baylor Bears website:

"I noticed while we were in Des Moines last week that my tongue felt strange. Yesterday I noticed when I smiled, only the left side of my mouth was working. Also, my right eye was drooping and I couldn't hear properly out of my right ear. Our trainer, Alex Olson, examined me before practice and it was decided I needed immediate medical care. Instead of going to practice, I went to the doctor," said Mulkey.

Bell's Palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) that results in the inability to control facial muscles of the affected side. The condition usually has a rapid onset of partial or complete paralysis that often occurs overnight.

The facial nerve passes through a small canal in the skull beneath the ear. It is thought that an inflammatory condition causes the facial nerve to swell which leads to compression of the nerve as it passes through the canal. While the exact cause of the swelling is unknown, many physicians believe the cause may be due to a virus.

"Coach Mulkey is being treated with an anti-viral medication along with oral steroids to reduce the inflammation of the facial nerve," Olson said.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Administrators Duff and Phelps were looking to have new owners for Glasgow Rangers in place by the end of the Scottish Premier League (SPL) season, but by the looks of things one prospective owner is out the door.

That leaves four, but it now appears that former Rangers director Paul Murphy's bid might go away since his bid is contingent on current director Craig Whyte being bought out by the winner in the process. Whyte wants no such action done.

Whyte and Murphy have been at odds since Whyte removed Murphy from the Rangers Board when Whyte took over almost a year ago... or, "only" a year ago...

Murphy has made his feelings known about the Whyte share to Duff and Phelps, but won't move forward until the issue is resolved.

Here's what Rangers are having to go up against in Celtic...
Even after adminstration and the likelihood Celtic clinches the SPL title this year...
((HT: SkySports))

FRIDAY UPDATE: Duff and Phelps is asking three bidders for the best offers by Wednesday, but they're the first to admit that they don't have a front-runner...

"The direction from Lord Hodge in the Court of Session in Edinburgh last Friday clarified important issues relating to the status of the arrangement between Ticketus and Rangers Football Club and our powers as administrators in relation to contractual rights.

"This has allowed the bidding process for the Club to move away from the previous uncertainty the issue caused. The direction has also enabled us to have intensive and constructive discussions throughout this week to confirm the levels of interest and the structure of any offers.

"It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the merits of individual bids but, in general, several parties have pursued their declared interest in the Club and five bids submitted have been subject to greater scrutiny.

"We fully understand the desire of supporters to see the bidding process concluded as soon as possible and have asked three bidders to submit best and final offers by Wednesday April 4. It is likely that a successful bidder will require a period of exclusivity to commit to final due diligence thereafter.

"Bids have inevitably been the subject of widespread comment and speculation but at this stage it would be unwise to perceive any particular party to be a preferred bidder, and the bidding process remains open for all parties until April 4."

Because in San Francisco apparently there can't be enough things that Giants reliever Brian Wilson is attached to.

Apparently, as part of a marketing agreement between the Giants and Virgin America Airways, a Giants themed, AirBus 320A will be a "Giants" themed plane complete with a "Brian Wilson" beard painted on the nose.

It is kind of funny in a certain way, though Wilson's gimmick has worn out its welcome with many. Sure, he's a wacky guy who does some really, really strange things for attention. And we aren't 100% sure that this would be the type of thing he'd want to be known for.

But then again, we aren't exactly San Francisco Giants fans either, so who knows how they feel out west.

Well, it certainly wasn't a good day to be a top administrator in the University of Montana's athletic department.

School president Royce Engstrom announced Thursday morning that Athletic Director Jim O'Day and head football coach Robin Pflugrad were fired. Engstrom didn't give a reason for the firings, but the school and the athletic department in particular have been under heavy scrutiny after a string of sexual assualt allegations over the past few years and major heat for the way they've been handled.

While the school didn't specify why O'Day and Pflugrad were fired, you can bet they found something wrong when investigating the goings on with the team. No, since we don't follow Montana football closely, we don't have specifics. But we've been in and around business long enough to know that when heads start rolling like this, with this kind of timing, somebody is in a whole heap of trouble.

Carolina already lost starting center Tyler Zeller since he was a senior. Now Jon Henson, Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall will enter the NBA draft.

Henson won back to back ACC defensive player of the year awards in 2011 and 2012.

Barnes was a pre-season first team all-american before he suited up in North Carolina's baby blues. He may not have lit up college basketball as was unrealistically expected but Barnes did have a great Carolina career.

Marshall turned out to live up to the hype at point guard. This season Marshall set an ACC single season record in assists with 351, fourth most in NCAA history. That earned Marshall the Bob Cousy award as the nations top point guard.

You knew it was too good to be true. The University of Georgia, a perennial contender on EDSBS's (Everyday Should Be Saturday) "Fulmer Cup" competition stayed clear of it in 2011.

Not so much in 2012. Add 2 more names to the ever growing list of Bulldog defensive players suspended for the beginning of the season.

Starting safety Baccari Rambo and linebacker Alec Ogletree reportedly will miss at least the first 2 games of the 2012 season for what the DawgPost.com website says is a "Violation of Team Rules".

Georgia has neither confirmed or denied the report, though Mark Schlabach of ESPN says he has confirmed it with an "Unnamed Source" inside the program.

((**ed note--Our UGA friends have been quick to point only arrests count as points. We are aware of this.**))

The Bulldogs were already facing life without starting cornerback Sanders Commings and cornerback Branden Smith to start the year. Commings will miss 2 games after being charged with domestic violence and Smith, who hasn't been suspended yet, was charged with marijuana possession while on Spring Break.

For those unfamiliar with EDSBS's "Fulmer Cup" it was named by the editor of the website, Orson Swindle, for former Tennessee coach Philip Fulmer who had a history of bringing in players who were always in trouble during the offseason. And yes, though we like and have many friends at the University of Georgia, they almost always seem to have multiple problems with player behavior between the months of January and May.

And while Georgia went through the 2011 offseason with almost no problems, they seem to be eager to return as perennial contenders for 2012's title.

We can think of nothing more fitting for our Georgia friends than this:

ESPN's Radi Nabulsi has word from Rambo's high school head coach, Alan Ingram, and he tells Nabulsi that Rambo was a victim in all of this...
"Bacarri went down to Panama City Beach with some friends," Ingram said. "One of the nights he went to bed before they did. He got up the next morning, was hungry and found some brownies on the table. He had some with some milk and told me, 'I got high.' The other guys got up and told him that the brownies were not for him. Apparently they were laced with marijuana.

"I think that is the story. I think that is exactly what happened. Not many times would I say that, but he has never lied to me before."

Rambo told Ingram that he could have faced a four-game if he turned himself in, so he chose not to do that and see how things fell out...

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The HQ has covered the travails of League 2 Port Vale as part of our coverage of all of the administration issues this season...

They've been docked ten points because of their financials, and now they've had to have a late-season match abandoned with possible-promotion candidate Shrewsbury Town because of what happened below...
((HT: STFCJOEL))

Shrewsbury striker Terry Gornell told BBC Radio Shropshire: "The initial reaction when the lights went out was that you see it all the time and that they'd soon be back on. You're in the game and you're not worrying about what's happening off the field.

"But, as soon as they started evacuating the stand, you knew there was slim chance of it carrying on.

"The main thing is nobody was hurt and it all went smoothly but we're in shock. We can't believe this has happened. It was one of our best performances of the season and we were playing some great football."

Intrepid CBSSports.com college hoops reporter Gary Parrish reports former NBA star, former Kansas grad and current Kansas assistant Danny Manning is going to be the new head coach at Tulsa. Manning will replace Doug Wojick who was fired.

Believe it or not, Manning has been an assistant at his alma mater since 2007 and his stature in the field has grown incrementally.

Manning still has a little piece of business to take care of as his Jayhawks arrive in New Orleans for this weekends Final Four. Based on Mr. Parrish's report and the weekends activity, we are guessing the "Official" presser won't be held until early next week.

And yes, he's going to be one of the tallest head coaches in the NCAA (just wanted to throw that in there).

Here's some video of Manning in his heyday, leading Kansas to the 1988 NCAA Championship. (**--note--** look how young Larry Brown looks here)

This comes from League2 with Crawley Town and Bradford City after the match was over...

From the Football League website itself:

"Regarding the unfortunate events which took place at yesterday's (Tuesday) game with Bradford City after the final whistle was blown, Crawley Town cannot make any further comment until the club has had an opportunity to view the video footage in detail," a club statement read.

"Following a full internal investigation, the club will decide whether there is the need for further disciplinary action in addition to that already taken by the Football Association, or to appeal against the suspensions handed out."

Manager Steve Evans has already promised that 'people [who] have acted out of turn need to be dealt with,' and he will no doubt play a major part in the investigation.

Here's the BBC's report on all the fun...
5 players were given cards after all the shenanigans settled down...

Since Fox Networks is going to have to grab a lot of revenue in the near-and-future future, it appears that Sports Chairman David Hill wants to start up a national network that would compete with the four-letter...

It was tried once before with limited (if not critical) success and financial and ratings failure...

Remember this...???
((HT: FoxSports/youtube))

And this...???

So those "anonymous sources" types are saying that, probably by the end of the year, Hill wants a roll-out if they can pull it off with all of their assembled properties headed in one direction. It looks like FuelTV may be the victim in all of this.

The HQ is all for competition in the 24-hour marketplace, and it would be interesting to see if Fox will stick with it the second time around...

Landing an ACC quarterback transfer has worked out for Wisconsin. Last year Russell Wilson came from North Carolina State and led the Badgers to the Rose Bowl.

Now it's O'Brien who makes the move and like Wilson will be eligible immediately. O'Brien will graduate from Maryland and enroll as a graduate student at Wisconsin.

As a freshman Danny O'Brien threw for 2,438 yards and 22 touchdown passes while only throwing eight interceptions. As the Terrapin starter in 2010 O'Brien was 7-3.

Following the 2010 season Ralph Friedgen was fired as Maryland head coach replaced the Randy Edsall. Edsall brought in Gary Crowton as offensive coordinator and his spread offense and that wasn't a good fit for O'Brien and he left the program.

Gary Crowton is no longer Maryland's O-C.

There was speculation that O'Brien would land at Vanderbilt where his first offensive coordinator at Vanderbilt James Franklin is head coach but he choose Wisconsin.

Guggenheim came to the table with $1.6-Billion in cash equity and paid another $500M for the team. According to Mark Cuban, that wasn't worth half of what the group paid for it...

The Mets are loving life right now since the value of their hemorrhaging franchise just went up- and everyone's value just went up... talk about living in the right neighborhood...

McCourt paid $430 million in 2004 for the Dodgers, the Stadium and the parking lots from Fox. The team had about $50 million in cash at the time, but by the time McCourt filed for bankruptcy, the team had a $579 million debt.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Baylor was in control of their regional final against Tennessee, but the end got out of control...

Evidence below...
((HT: ESPN/NCAA/youtube))

The larger question discussed by the officials was the fate of the three Baylor players who left the bench- even if it was in the role of peace-maker. The end decision was ejections instead of suspensions.

Think about it... do you think those referees would want anything to do with taking one of the game's premier players out of a Final Four game...???

The HQ will admit that the situation was a bit more than intriguing...

The HQ also consulted the NCAA rule book which says in its Fight Reporting Procedres: head coach should withhold the offender(s) from the next
scheduled game even if the conference or athletics director has not
contacted him or her

Um... okay...

The larger issue is that the referee's decision stands regardless: The NCAA could correct an error, but not reverse an on-court decision...

But, the second issue is: Was this the last game that Pat Summitt coached for the program...??? Holly Warlick was doing a lot of the screaming on the sidelines this season, and we'll all monitor what's going on in Knoxville.

Looks like Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin is heading to Columbia, SC to be South Carolina’s next head coach- according to "sources close to the coach" a day after he denied interest in the job during CBS coverage of the regional finals.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Mayor Regis Labeaume of Quebec City says the $400-million arena project they've been discussing is going forward with a completion date of September 2015 and should seat 18,000 or so.

The folks at Quebecor met a deadline of March 31st to get the naming rights of the arena that doesn't exist and get to manage it when it's built. Labeaume was asking for matching federal funds (as you see below), but in the interim it's on Quebecor, the province, and Quebec City to fund it...

Somehow...

Here's an interview CBCNN's Heather Hiscox had discussing the idea a few months back...

And here's Sportsnet's experts discussing the matter as well...

Marcel Aubut is quite a confident man... isn't he...???

But there is some fine print... if a franchise shows up, Quebecor pays (about) twice what they would if one never shows.

The HQ is under the impression that Tampa Rays pitcher Matt Bush is in deep doo-doo after, allegedly, driving under the influence and running into a 72-year-old Floridian, Tony Tufano, as he was driving a motorcycle on the streets of Port Charlotte, Florida.

Bush is being held on multiple charges: some DUI-related and some for leaving the scene of an accident. Bush apparently, did this while he was driving on a suspended license as well...

(MLS) Commissioner Don Garber also mandated that Clark attend diversity and sensitivity training. This is in addition to the training that all MLS clubs attend at the beginning of each season.

“Major League Soccer will not tolerate this type of behavior from its players or staff at any time, under any circumstances,” Garber said in a statement. “Colin Clark has expressed sincere remorse for his actions and I believe that he will learn from this incident.”

Friday, March 23, 2012

Getting pulled over for a DUI charge is never a good thing. It's worse if you are a professional athlete.

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Bobby Jenks is facing multiple DUI related charges after the car he was driving early Friday morning after driving too fast and careening off the road and onto the sidewalk.

Jenks said it was because he was under the influence of "Too many Muscle Relaxers" which may...or may not be true. Either way, he should not have been behind the wheel of his Mercedes and will now pay the price for his decision.

For those of you who are sports junkies and don't really follow the news, the shooting of central Florida teenager Trayvon Martin has caught the attention of most of the U.S and arguably the world. Martin was shot...and killed, by a Sanford, Florida Neighborhood Watch captain who thought Martin was something he wasn't because he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and was black.

Martin was carrying a soda and a bag of Skittles at the time.

Thus far, the incident has drawn national attention, mostly for what hasn't happened. The shooter, George Zimmerman, hasn't been charged with anything, despite there appearing to be overwhelming evidence that he should. The Sanford Police department has taken tons of heat and been the target of rally's because the appearance of nothing being done.

This afternoon, LeBron James and his Miami Heat teammates posed for a picture wearing their hoodies. The reason was simple: A show of solidarity for the Martin's.

The gesture we are guessing will be replicated by many, and it should. You can consider this our way of repeating the statement.

And that may knock three of the four current bidders out of their interest in picking up Glasgow Rangers...

The Court of Session in Edinburgh decided that they wouldn't intercede and give any legal advice in the £24.4million season ticket deal with Ticketus.

Judge Lord Hodge said he wasn't "given sufficient legal information" to do anything, and Hodge also decided not to give Ticketus preferential treatment as a creditor.

Administrators Duff and Phelps went to court to try and get the Court to give advice and tear up the club's agreement with Ticketus. D&P claim that having the deal with Ticketus is preventing any serious bidders from taking over ownership.

The investment firm's eight-figure cash injection (60-percent of ticket sales over the next three seasons) allowed embattled owner-on the way out-Craig Whyte to pay off Rangers bank debt and complete his takeover in May.

The HQ knows this ain't over and it could get a whole lot messier before it gets any better... and all that is coming is the game against Celtic this weekend
Here's your flashback...
((HT: BBCNewsScotland/youtube))

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The government body that can barely agree on the time of day or if water is wet wants to investigate a problem in a professional sport?

Sorry, we generally don't like interjecting our political thoughts when it comes to sports, however, that appears to not be the case of Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

We say that there at least 1 or 2 more important things for the "Esteemed" body to spend their time with.

Durbin would like to convene the Senate's judiciary committee to find out more about the "Bounty" system the New Orleans Saints used to employ and got in a whole lot of trouble with. He wants to know if the other major sports do anything similar.

The short answer to that should be: "None of your damn business".

And that answer is not to belittle what the Saints did. It was wrong, they knew it was wrong and are now suffering because of it. We also aren't naive enough to think it might be something no other teams do.

That is why the leagues have discipline.

Once again, the Senate, Congress or any other political branch should keep their collective noses out of it. It quite honestly is not any of their business.

And even if it were, whichever side of the aisle (Durbin is a Democrat), is for it...the other would be completely against it, whether it was right or wrong. So anything they could potentially do, would never actually happen anyway. Heck, they can't agree on a budget, why would they agree on something like this?

And that folks, in a nutshell (or sentence), is why the country is stuck in first gear and why big businesses, such as the NFL can do whatever they see fit.

Amendola feels that since the Commonwealth has not given him specifics in the "Criminal Informations" that he cannot adequately prepare a defense for Sandusky. Amendola also feels that the Commnwealth cannot submit appropriate evidence to support their case.

But a recent development has arisen from the initial 1998 case may have some impact (or not- depending who you talk to)

Yeah, we can't resist. We feel compelled to do this...or something like that. It's kind of..a little like watching a train wreck or whatever it is that draws people to watch some of the incredibly bizarre reality TV shows that now exist in our universe.

We find it utterly fascinating that The Tebow is now in The Big Apple. Land of tabloid newspapers. Place of maniacal football fans who nitpick over every detail of their team.

Kind of like SEC Football fans.

Yeah, we know, the rank and file Florida fanatics are mystified as to why the hometown Jacksonville Jaguars didn't try harder to get him.

NY Daily News/Courtesy: Newseum.org

And yeah, it would have been a great novelty thing for a year or two, but unless he developed with the lack of talent around him into something he currently isn't, the Jaguars would be assured of never getting any better than they are.

The flip side is Blaine Gabbert isn't making anybody think he is a savior either. And Tebow probably would be an improvement.

You may be right.

The thing that we think of here, and we know the Florida/Jacksonville faithful are loathe to admit it is that the guy isn't everything you think he is. In fact, we'll probably be called haters or worse for saying this...but The Tebow is in this for him.

Think about it.

The marketing opportunities on a national basis in New York as opposed to Jacksonville. They are probably 10,000 times more...at least. But we aren't disparaging the River City because he would have been the face of the franchise, but when push comes to shove, it is still Jacksonville, market 49 in the world of TV. We love Jacksonville, heck, we lived there for several years and have a lot of friends there, but there is no comparison.

But it ain't New York.

No, we feel, strongly, that this was a marketing based decision on The Tebow and his handlers part. We don't begrudge either party for it. They are doing what they feel is in their best interest. And heck, Mark Sanchez, despite his contract extension isn't reminding anyone of Joe Namath either.

Tebow will be a role player in New York. And if they can tailor what they do to his skill set, he can be very successful at it. And if he can be successful at it, he will be a HUGE marketing commodity. And again, Florida folks who look at him as this god-like figure: He isn't that different than other pro athletes, they are all in this for the money and fame.

Old Dominion University's best basketball player, Kent Bazemore was arrested Wednesday night just before tipoff of his teams NIT game vs. Mercer.

According to WAVY-TV in Norfolk, Virginia, Bazemore was arrested for not completing the terms of his sentence for a DUI charge in 2011. It just so happened that the arrest took place in Virginia Beach.

After it was found Bazemore didn't attend the classes he was required to attend, an arrest warrant was issued and right after warmups Wednesday night, Mr. Bazemore was escorted from the court, directly to jail, where he was later released.

Uh...lesson here.

And it is a pretty simple one, so we won't preach so much. If you are arrested and sentenced to something, it doesn't matter who you are...especially if you participate in something public like...oh...say...a college or professional sport, eventually you'll pay the price. If you are sentenced to do something, chances are it is because you did something wrong...and just because you are a college or professional athlete doesn't excuse you from serving out that sentence.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

For a couple of picks- a four and a six, while the Jets turn a seventh rounder back to Denver...

So, now we have Sanchez, McElroy, and Tebow...

Who, by the way, is no Brad Smith...

Who is going to keep Rex Ryan's mouth in check this year if "Hard Knocks" heads back to Long Island...???
HMMMMMMMMMMMMM..........????????

Jus' axin'
((HT: HBO Sports/youtube))

1600 UPDATE: Or not... apparently there is a snag now...

According to Adam Schefter, anyway...

In Tebow's contract is a $6.2 million salary advance- $1.2 million has been paid by the Broncos. $5 million is supposed to be advanced during the tenure of the deal, and that would shift to the Jets in a trade. The Jets, according to Schefter and his sources, believe the Broncos should owe Tebow the $5-million.

The teams agreed to the trade before the Broncos asked the Jets to pay the US$5-million... and the Jets are squawking...

The NFL is suspending former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator (and now-almost current St Louis Rams DC) Gregg Williams indefinitely and Saints head coach Sean Payton for one year because of the team's bounty program.

And the league wasn't done...

The NFL is also suspending Saints GM Mickey Loomis for the first eight games in 2012, and Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt for the first six games.

And the league still isn't done...

The Saints will also be fined $500,000 and forfeit their second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 NFL drafts.

Oh, crap...

Here's early returns from the four-letter...
((HT: ESPN))

And when Mike Hoss interviewed former Saints exec Jim Miller over the weekend, Miller knew something was up...
((HT: WWL-TV New Orleans))

If you are outraged by this verdict and I see you are. Never let this conversation die," Fleury tweeted to his more than 46,000 followers in response to the sentence. "Keep elevating till change is made."

The Crown was seeking a six-year prison sentence. The defence had asked for a conditional sentence with no jail time. Defence lawyer Evan Roitenberg said James has become the most "hated man in hockey" and has been punished enough.

The maximum sentence is 10 years for each offence.

Here's reaction from Sheldon Kennedy and Greg Gilhooly on the sentencing...

Northern Illinois LB Jamaal Bass has been indicted in Ohio on a felonious assault charge doing what he did below as he took the field when the teams played back in November.

Here's the incident, focus on Number 6 in white...
Decide for yourself...

Bass could face up to eight years in prison if convicted on the felonious assault charge, but he was also booked on a misdemeanor assault charge as well.

He was suspended after the 63-60 victory at Toledo and his coach, Dave Doeren, apologized to the band and to Toledo University in general...

"As the legal proceedings in Toledo involving NIU football player Jamaal Bass are ongoing, we will reserve any comment until that process is complete," Northern Illinois said in a statement. "Jamaal is currently enrolled at Northern Illinois and his status with the football program has not changed."

Gail Goestenkors, former Duke head women's basketball coach, resigned from her job at the University of Texas on Monday, saying she was "tired" and "needed a break."

Goestenkors, who developed the 'Coach G' moniker after coaching alongside Mike Krzyzewski in Durham, was in the midst of a seven year contract when she decided to take the long walk into the sunset. After five years as the head of the Longhorns' program, G had a win-loss record of 102-64 and was 498-163 overall after 20 coaching seasons.

"After a lot of soul searching...I am tired and it's not fair to this program," Goestenkors said, in a news conference to make her decision. "It's not fair to the kids to have a coach that's just tired."

Texas women's athletic director Chris Plonsky insists that Coach G was not ran out of Austin after a less-than-stellar 18-14 season this year, and a first round NCAA loss to West Virginia.

Texas hasn't advanced past the first round since 2008, Goestenkors' first season.

"We regret (Goestenkors' tenure) isn't continuing and that the
results weren't better. Those are the only two things
we regret," Plonsky told the Houston Chronicle. "We will find a leader for our players. [Texas] is not for the faint of heart."